Development of nanocomposite films containing vegetables puree for use as edible packaging.

• Grant number: 12/24362-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Effective date (Start): March 01, 2013
• Effective date (End): February 28, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Henrique Capparelli Mattoso
• Grantee: Marcos Vinicius Lorevice
• Host Institution: Embrapa Instrumentação Agropecuária. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (EMBRAPA). Ministério da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento (Brasil). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The discarding increasingly of packages produced from polymers derived from petroleum has significantly increased the environmental impacts and consequently the concern in reducing such damage. One of the ways to decrease the damage has been the production of packaging from biodegradable polymers, low cost and renewable. The pectin, polysaccharide of plant origin, used to make films, is biodegradable and renewable, but it presents unfavorable physical properties: high water solubility, low barrier property to water vapor and low mechanical strength. The search to increase physical properties has been important in very studies that add compounds into matrices of the polymers. The addition of nanoparticles showed an improvement in hydrophobic characteristic, barrier properties and mechanical properties of edible films. For this reason, this project aims to produce films of pectin with nanoparticles of chitosan and films of pectin with nanoparticles of poly(µ-caprolactone), in which will be studied the correlation composition-structure of the films and will be subsequently added puree of a vegetable in the films to improve sensory properties and nutritional. Chitosan nanoparticles will be produced by gelatinization ionotropic and nanoparticles of PCL will be synthesized by nanoprecipitation. Zeta potential analysis and particles size will be investigated. The films will be produced by casting and characterized by: thickness, FT-IR analysis, mechanical properties, thermal analysis, water vapor permeability, atomic force microscopy, scanning electron microscopy and antimicrobial activity tests. The potential application of the films prepared would be in edible films with flavor and odor to extend the shelf life of products.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

LOREVICE, MARCOS VINICIUS; OTONI, CABO GOMIDE; DE MOURA, MARCIA REGINA; CAPPARELLI MATTOSO, LUIZ HENRIQUE. Chitosan nanoparticles on the improvement of thermal, barrier, and mechanical properties of high- and low-methyl pectin films. FOOD HYDROCOLLOIDS, v. 52, p. 732-740, JAN 2016. (12/24362-6, 14/23098-9)

MARCOS V. LOREVICE; MARCIA R. DE MOURA; LUIZ H. C. MATTOSO. Nanocompósito de polpa de mamão e nanopartículas de quitosana para aplicação em embalagens. Química Nova, v. 37, n. 6, p. 931-936, 2014-07-00. (12/24362-6)